Israeli Ministers Hinder Mossad Chief's Bid to Resume Gaza Hostage Negotiations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other cabinet ministers have blocked the head of Mossad, David Barnea, from visiting Qatar to restart negotiations over a new hostage release deal with Hamas. Families of the hostages expressed shock and demanded an explanation, calling for an immediate end to the deadlock in negotiations. Israel recently disclosed that 19 hostages have been killed, while approximately 138 are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza. Despite informal lines of communication, little substantive movement has been made in reopening talks, with Hamas insisting that negotiations cannot occur while fighting continues.